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A spirit that is not afraid

Discussions surrounding eating disorders arise during week of awareness

Students, adults and psychologists weigh in on the pervasive nature of eating disorders

In 2015, Auburn resident Reeder Dulaney, 57, went to Wickenburg, Arizona, in order to begin a healing process at a treatment center. After years of anorexia, one day she collapsed in her home. It was then that she and her family knew it was time for a change; it was time to face the eating disorder.

In the U.S., 13 million people binge eat, and 10 million women battle anorexia or bulimia. The National Eating Disorders Association also reports that 80 percent of American 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat, and 42 percent of girls in first through third grades want to be thinner. 

This week, Feb.26–March 4, is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week — a week in which NEDA encourages people to "raise awareness, bust myths, get people screened and start journeys to healing."

Dulaney said she'd always been aware of her weight as a taller, slim woman. She would step on the scale every day and would categorize her day as good or bad based on the number staring back at her. 

In college, she said, the big things were laxatives, but as she got older and when stresses were high, she simply wouldn't eat. Whether she didn't eat because she had no appetite due to stress or she didn't want to eat in order to lose weight, it was a problem nonetheless, she said.

The decision to go to the treatment center in Arizona wasn't a super easy one, Dulaney said, but she's so glad that the day she collapsed in her house pushed her further down the path to recovery.

"If I don't go now, right now while this happened, I'll forget how bad it was, and I won't go," she told her psychiatrist after fainting in her home and being taken to the emergency room.

Melissa Scott, a licensed professional counselor based in Birmingham, has done extensive work with patients with eating disorders. She said based on her experience, eating disorders have changed in recent years.

"When I first started practicing it was more of a classic anorexia or exercise addiction, restrictive type," Scott said. "What I’m seeing more, and I think the national trends and the numbers show this as well, is a more complex eating disorder. What we’re seeing more now are clients that will restrict and then go through binge and purge cycles, and then go through orthorexia cycles. I really think the direction we’re going to see next is more of that orthorexia — hyper-focused on healthy foods, healthy exercise, quote-unquote, and there are so many cultural reasons for that."

Scott said she believes many cultural aspects have contributed to these changes including the rise in fitness culture and fad diets.

"Everybody has an opinion; everybody thinks they have the right answer, and what we know from a scientific perspective is that everybody is different," Scott said regarding diets. "We have different body types; we have different blood types; we have different rates of metabolism; we have different protein and carbohydrate needs. It’s not one size fits all."


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Noelle Posner, junior in marketing, came to Auburn in the midst of recovery from multiple eating disorders she struggled with throughout her eighth-grade year and high school. 

"I've always been a big advocate of, if you struggled with something and are willing to talk about it, it's always helpful for other people to hear it first hand," Posner said.

It was this mentality that encouraged her to get involved with the Body Image Education and Eating Disorders Awareness organization on Auburn's campus. Now, three years later, she serves as the organization's president.

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The organization participates in Love Your Body Week, hosted on Auburn's campus during National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. The week promotes body positivity and awareness of various outlets on campus that can help students who may be struggling with body image issues or eating disorders.

Scott suggested that if anyone in a person's life has questioned whether they have a problem with eating or body image, then it's worth looking into.

"I think the motivations for eating well and exercising should be on how you feel as opposed to how you look," Scott said. "I think the minute we make that switch to manipulating appearance, it’s not necessarily that it is a problem, it’s that we open the door to it becoming a problem."

Dulaney went to the treatment center two separate times and said she is infinitely grateful for the experience. But, she emphasized the ongoing nature of recovery; there isn't a one-stop fix.


Editor's note: A previous version of this article stated that Melissa Scott is a clinical psychologist. She is a licensed professional counselor. We regret the error.


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